Africa: A New Frontier in Oil and Gas Exploration

According to Michelle Foss, head of the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Energy Economics, Africa is entering “a new phase in the history of global oil and gas development.”

In an article Foss wrote for Geotimes, she describes the desire of Africans to control their energy resources and to reap more of the benefits. She also explains the immense need for modernization of infrastructure and identifies growing foreign investment from China and India. In short, she says, Africa is poised to become a larger player in the global oil and gas market.

Michelle Michot Foss is chief energy economist and head of the Center for Energy Economics at the Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, at the University of Texas at Austin. She leads U.S. and worldwide research on energy markets, technology and commercialization at the Center for Energy Economics.

For more information, contact J.B. Bird, Jackson School of Geosciences, jbird@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623.